New Zealand's defense minister has slammed “armchair admirals” who criticized the captain of one of the country's warships that sank last week.
HMNZS Manawanui, a vessel specializing in ocean diving and imaging, was experiencing difficulties at sea Samoan Upolu Island while observing the reef on Saturday evening local time.
It later caught fire before capsizing.
Latest on Hurricane Milton: Follow live updates
All 75 people on board escaped in lifeboats and were rescued on Sunday morning, New Zealand Defense Forces said.
Confirming that she had launched an investigation into the crash, Judith Collins told reporters on Thursday that while the cause of the incident was unknown, it had nothing to do with the captain's gender.
Collins, New Zealand's first woman defense minister, said she was dismayed by the online comments
“armchair admirals”, calling them people who will never have to make “life and death” decisions.
She called critics of Commander Yvonne Gray, the ship's British-born officer in command, “simply vile,” accusing them of “making comments about people they don't know, about an area they don't know.”
“Where's the decency?” she asked, calling it a “deeply disturbing, misogynistic narrative.”
Ms Collins said she investigated one of Commander Gray's critics, who she said turned out to be a Melbourne truck driver, whom she told to “stick to comments about driving trucks, not ships”.
She said women in uniform were harassed on the street after the incident, calling the reports “scandalous.”
New Zealand has long been known for its progressive stance on gender equality among the country's female population
he was the first in the world to obtain the right to vote.
But women in power, including the former ones Prime Minister Jacinda Ardernoften faced much worse treatment from citizens than their colleagues – a topic that is hotly debated in parliament and local media.
Read more:
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida
A woman runs away from 100 raccoons
Former Premier League footballer found dead in swimming pool
About 20% of New Zealand's uniformed defense force personnel are women. The Navy said it reached a new high of more than 24% in 2023.
The loss of Manawanui – the first ship New Zealand's navy has lost to sea since World War II – leaves it with just five operational ships and will cost NZ$100 million (£46 million) to replace, reports say.
On Thursday, the Samoa Maritime Pollution Advisory Committee (MPAC) said the ship was “leaking oil from three different locations” but there was still no “sign” of oil washing ashore.
MPAC says most of the ship's fuel was burned during a fire on board, but the oil was observed rapidly dispersing into the sea.
